Salmon Arm, B.C. – The Salmon Arm Silverbacks welcome in the Okotoks Oilers to Rogers Rink for the second time this season.
The Silverbacks get on the board for the early lead in the first period. Just before the halfway mark of the period, Maddux Martin finishes off a scramble in front for his 14th of the season to get the Silverbacks the 1-0 lead. In the opening frame, the Silverbacks were able to go 2/2 on the penalty kill but 0/1 on the powerplay.
A high-scoring back-and-forth second period saw the Silverbacks hold onto their lead. At the 6:42 mark, it’s Brock Souch’s turn to collect a loose puck in a scramble and put it into the back of the net to tie up the game 1-1. One minute later, Dakota MacIntosh streaks down the left wing and picks the bottom corner perfectly for his 16th of the season, 3rd as a Silverback, to regain the lead, 2-1. At the 9:00 mark, Maddux Martin gets called for tripping, sending the Oilers to their third powerplay of the night. On the man advantage, Joseph Meredith snaps home the tying goal. Coming out of the BCHL media timeout, Roenick Jodoin grabs the puck in the crease and slides it by for his 11th of the year, 3-2 Silverbacks. With four minutes left in the frame, Cyle Clayton gets sent to the box for hooking, giving the Silverbacks their third powerplay of the season, and this time they convert. Jodoin sneaks by the defenceman and finishes off a beautiful breakaway goal for his second of the game, 12th of the season, 4-2 Salmon Arm leads. In the dying minute, Easton Walos and Joseph Meredith drop the gloves and get into a fight.
The Silverbacks get two more goals in the third period to put the game away. In the first two minutes, Payton Nelson forces the turnover in the neutral zone and snipes the bottom corner to make it 5-2 with his 9th of the season. Back on the powerplay in the first five minutes, Cole Cooksey grabs the loose puck in the high slot and sends it on net which sneaks through the legs for another Silverbacks goal, 6-2. Halfway through the period, the Oilers had a golden opportunity when leading scorer, Jackson Rowland was awarded a penalty shot, but he missed the net just wide. The Silverbacks outshot Okotoks 30-18.
Andrew Ballantyne backstops the Silverbacks to their even 20th win of the season, stopping 16/18.
(Photo credit: Kristal Burgess)